11:41, 6 May, 2020

YEREVAN, MAY 6, ARMENPRESS. Since the initiation of the coronavirus-related state of emergency Armenian banks and credit organizations have provided loan repayment holidays to 472,000 individuals and 15,000 businesses, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told lawmakers in parliament during the presentation of the government action plan’s performance.

Pashinyan emphasized that the banks have done so independently.

He reminded that when the crisis began there was much talk about the potential possibility of the government obliging the banking system to grant the loan holidays. “But I have expressed my principled stance, that we can’t resort to such solutions through administrative decisions, because this would lead to a significant disruption of our financial system. And we, without any administrative lever, have always maintained contact with the central bank, which also ensured communication with commercial banks. And I am happy to note that as of May 5 the crediting organizations and banks have granted loan holidays to more than 472 thousand natural persons and 15 thousand legal persons,” Pashinyan said.

768,150 loans of individuals and 16,875 loans of businesses have been restructured, he added.

Reporting by Anna Grigoryan; Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan